DPM, PPP chief rejects Delhi’s suspension of IWT ministers’ pledge to defend country’s water rights Experts call for
A giant video wall highlights India’s violations of the Indus Waters Treaty since April 2025 during a presentation at a seminar titled ‘Indus Waters Treaty: An Instrument of Peace and Regional Stability’ in Islamabad. Photo: PTV
ISLAMABAD:
The political leadership on Tuesday pledged a robust defense of Pakistan’s rights under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) through all available legal and diplomatic means, warning that any attempt to deprive the country of its share of water would have “profound implications for regional peace and security”.
Political leaders, ministers, legal experts and international scholars also urged the international community to reject the weaponization of water and uphold the sanctity of international treaties during an international seminar on the treaty held in Islamabad.
The seminar was addressed by several federal ministers including Ishaq Dar, Attaullah Tarar and Musadik Malik, the Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters Mehar Ali Shah, political experts from the US, China and Russia and other speakers.
The speakers at the seminar, titled ‘Indus Waters Treaty: An Instrument of Peace and Regional Stability’, urged the international community to uphold the treaty, reject the weaponization of water and ensure that disputes were resolved through established legal and diplomatic mechanisms rather than unilateral action.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the six-decade-old IWT could not be suspended or terminated unilaterally. Expressing concern over sudden variations in the Chenab and Jhelum rivers since April 2025, he said that disputes must be resolved through the established mechanisms of the treaty.
He called India’s decision last April to suspend the treaty “illegal, unilateral and baseless”, adding that Pakistan unequivocally rejected the announcement. “No party can unilaterally suspend or terminate obligations under a treaty that does not contain such a provision,” he said.
Dar said uninterrupted flows from the western rivers were vital for Pakistan’s agriculture, food security, energy production and economic development. He warned that disregarding international agreements when they became politically inconvenient would undermine confidence in the international legal order.
The Deputy Prime Minister recalled the National Security Committee’s position following India’s decision and warned that any diversion, interruption or reduction of Pakistan’s water rights under the treaty would be treated as an act of war.
“We sincerely advise India to sow the seeds of war and endanger peace and security in the region,” he said, adding that Pakistan remains committed to dialogue and peaceful settlement of disputes, but there should be “no misunderstanding” about the country’s resolve to protect its water rights.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also described India’s decision to put the treaty on hold as “not just a bilateral dispute but a challenge to international law, global peace and the rights of downstream states”. He called for a new international convention against the weaponization of waterways.
“International law should expressly prohibit states from exploiting civil dependence on shared rivers,” he said. “Water is not a weapon. Thirst is not diplomacy. Famine is not statecraft,” he added, arguing that no upstream state should be allowed to hold downstream populations hostage by manipulating shared waterways.
Bilawal urged Pakistan to pursue its legal, diplomatic, humanitarian, climate and deterrence issues simultaneously while continuing to strengthen domestic water security through reservoirs, barrages, canals and flood protection projects.
Comparing the Indus River to the Strait of Hormuz, Bilawal said lasting peace between Pakistan and India could not be achieved while the treaty remained in abeyance. He said the IWT was far more than a water-sharing arrangement and had served for decades as a cornerstone of regional peace and stability.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Pakistan was not just discussing a treaty, but “the lifeline of more than 240 million people”. He described the Indus as central to Pakistan’s identity and civilization and said the country’s people had an inalienable right to its waters.
He said international agreements could not be changed, revoked, suspended or put on hold unilaterally, stressing that the treaty had endured wars and protracted political tensions for more than six decades because it reflected the principles of good faith and peaceful settlement of disputes.
“The weaponization of water undermines regional peace, stability and cooperation,” he said, reiterating that Pakistan remained committed to peaceful engagement and constructive dialogue but would protect its water rights through all available legal means.
Citing repeated fluctuations in water flows and the experience of a Pakistani farmer displaced by multiple floods, Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik said the issue affected livelihoods, food security and the rights of downstream populations.
Malik warned that if the IWT could be unilaterally disregarded, confidence in the international treaty system itself would be undermined. He called for a binding international convention on transboundary water management with political, economic and diplomatic implications.
Pakistan’s Indus Waters Commissioner Mehar Ali Shah said the treaty was designed to prevent conflict and keep water disputes out of politics. Shah called the Permanent Indus Commission the treaty’s “early warning system” and said Pakistan had continued to fulfill its obligations by sharing data.
He told the seminar that repeated communications with India in this regard had gone unanswered, adding that the absence of timely information made downstream states unable to distinguish between natural river conditions and upstream operations.
Citing repeated fluctuations in the Chenab river since April 2025, Shah said sudden changes in water flows complicated flood forecasting, disrupted irrigation planning and increased strategic risks.
Former Law Minister Ahmer Bilal Soofi called for dialogue between legal experts from both countries within established legal frameworks. Former defense minister Khurram Dastgir Khan accused India of “weaponizing water” and said it threatened millions of people dependent on the Indus basin.
He referred to measures including suspension of hydrological data sharing, closure of Baglihar and Salal dam gates, accelerated water projects and actions affecting river flows. He called on the international community to uphold the principle that shared rivers must never be used as instruments of coercion.
Several international experts who attended the seminar echoed similar concerns. Laurie Watkins, a US policy expert, said the withholding of hydrological data and failure to respond to Pakistan’s correspondence violated the principles of customary international law.
Dr. Roxolana Zigon of the University of World Civilizations in Moscow described the Indus Waters Treaty as internationally recognized for its durability and praised Pakistan’s restrained response despite heightened tensions.
Prof Victor Gao of the Center for China and Globalization termed India’s suspension of the treaty as “a crime against humanity”, while President of the Institute of Regional Studies, Ambassador Jauhar Saleem, said lasting water security depends not only on the availability of water, but also on security, transparency, predictability and cooperation.
The seminar concluded with participants affirming that the Indus Waters Treaty remained a cornerstone of regional peace and stability. Speakers maintained that transboundary rivers should serve as instruments of cooperation rather than confrontation.
(WITH INPUTS FROM APP)
